NVIC receives many reports of harassment from new parents who do not want to give their baby certain vaccines, including hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Some are bullied and threatened with charges of child medical neglect or child abuse for vaccine refusal and are worried their child will be taken from them by state social services agencies.
There is no legal federal or state requirement in the U.S. that newborns receive a hepatitis B shot at birth. However, some individual doctors or medical workers in medical care facilities, who are ideologically committed to ensuring that every child receives every federally recommended vaccine on schedule, use threats and other types of coercion to intimidate parents into agreeing to give their baby a hepatitis B shot within 12 hours of birth.
A 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health on this topic noted that some states expressly prohibit terming vaccine refusal as the sole basis for child abuse or neglect, and most states provide no similar guidance to their Child Protective Services (CPS) division. The study additionally noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics didn’t support vaccine refusal as medical neglect.
If anyone is threatening you with charges of child medical neglect or child abuse for not giving your child a vaccine, such as hepatitis B vaccine, it is important to immediately find an attorney who will advise you about whether or not your parental medical informed consent rights are being violated and evaluate your legal options.
In addition to seeking legal advice, you can best defend your parental medical informed consent rights if you are knowledgeable about the hepatitis B infection and the vaccine. Deciding whether or not to vaccinate your newborn for hepatitis B is the first of many health decisions you will make as a parent.
Visit NVIC’s Disease and Vaccines webpages to learn more about risks and benefits to assist in decision-making. While NVIC doesn’t provide legal advice, below are legal resources that may help you identify an attorney if needed.
- Findlaw provides a searchable directory of attorneys by location and legal experience;
- Law Info provides a listing of Attorneys specializing in CPS Law:
- Liberty Counsel provides pro bono legal assistance with vaccine exemptions;
- Pacific Justice Institute works pro bono to defend religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties;
- First Liberty works to defend religious liberty;
- Alliance Defending Freedom works to protect religious freedom, free speech, and parental rights;
